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Friday, April 20, 2018

Tooth and claw by Nigel McCrery

Tooth and claw is the sequel to Still waters and while you can read the books separately you will enjoy the series more if you read the books in order.DCI Mark Lapslie is good at his job, but his synaesthesia makes it challenging (if not downright impossible) to do his job in the normal, expected fashion. Working on reports for the higher ups keeps him gainfully employed, but his superiors seem determined to push him into applying for early retirement on medical grounds and he is too stubborn and determined to let them push him out. When he is assigned not one, but two different murder cases the pressure builds, and it becomes increasingly difficult for Lapslie to keep his condition under wraps. It might be the stress he's under, but it also seems like the symptoms of his synaesthesia are getting worse, despite doing everything he can to keep it hidden as the case progresses he is exposed to his colleagues in rather spectacular fashion. With his professional life starting to unravel at the seams, and with challenging cases to solve the one saving grace for Lapslie is the unswerving support of his DS - Emma Bradbury.

This series is a real pain to review because all the tasty little tidbits you would normally put in the review would be spoilers for the little twists and turns that make this series so interesting. I loved the character development, especially watching the way the killer slowly comes under the spotlight and you learn more about him. We also get to learn more about both DCI Lapslie and DS Bradbury which makes it easier to connect with them as characters and helps expose some of what makes them tick. It will be interesting to see how the characters develop over time, and how McCrery keeps the storylines fresh and engaging once the surprise of Lapslie's synaesthesia wears off.